CH 11

「What is the question?」

「Well, don’t panic. Come on, let’s have some tea.」

Just as the village chief said this, the old woman, Midia, brought over two glasses on a tray.

The two of them had been living together for a long time, and the way they acted in harmony reminded me of that.

「Itadakimasu.」

I take a sip. It was refreshing and had a mellow sweetness, and the refreshing scent of young leaves calmed the mind.

I’m not that much of a tea drinker, but I can tell that it’s high quality.

「The look on your face tells me that you like it. It needs to be freshly harvested to have this flavor. It’s a privilege to be a resident of the village because the taste will drop a lot when it’s shipped.」

That’s the village chief. As expected of a village chief, he is very good at publicity.

「Mmm~~ The tea that Midia makes is the best.」

「Why don’t you stop talking nonsense and start talking?」

Pointed out by Midia, the village chief finally cuts out the main subject.

「Lars. Look at the map.」

I wait quietly, knowing that it will definitely be a troublesome story.

「There’s a red X on it.」

「That’s where the monsters (demons) were witnessed.」

I see. That’s it! I thought it was the mark of a villager who was killed by a monster. The situation is better than what I had imagined.

「There hasn’t been a single monster in the surrounding forest since the village was founded, but there have been more than 10 since the beginning of this year.」

「Are you saying that a Dungeon has appeared nearby?」

There are several reasons why monsters appear, and one of them is 《Dungeon(s)》.

It is a place for monsters to live that suddenly appears and spits out monsters. That’s what dungeons are for. They are a nuisance that will continue to spit out monsters unless the 《Dungeon Master》 at the far end is defeated, but they are also a great source of monster materials.

「That’s why I asked the adventurers to investigate, but they didn’t find anything. The Lord just told me to report when the cause was found, and it was left unattended.」

If there was no noticeable damage and no Dungeon was found, the soldiers would not be able to move. I can understand what the Lord’s says.

「What you want from me is to investigate and weed out(thin) the monsters?」

「That’s right! I want Lars to work as a vigilante, protecting the village. The salary will come out of the village. Can you do that?」

I’m a retired adventurer, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to fight. In fact, I like it. I was willing to take the job.

「Can you tell me what kind of monsters appear?」

「They’re all low-level demons like goblins and slimes.」

「If nothing else, I’ll take the job if you’ll allow me to take a day off every two days and do whatever I want in the village during my free time.」

「However, if a demon attacks during the break, you will deal with it, right?」

「Of course! I will do my best to protect you.」

「If so, no problem then.」

I was trying to live a quiet life away from the battle, but it seemed that such a life was not available in this village.

It’s expensive to hire adventurers, and it lacks flexibility. A former adventurer villager like me would be very useful in this village.